The Side That No One Saw
by meerjax
Summary: Cass comes from a long line of proud Gryffindors. She's the perfect child, always follows the rules, always polite. So when she's sorted into Slytherin, becomes best friends with Draco Malfoy, excels at potions and teams up with a poltergeist to get back at Harry Potter, her parents are more than a little a disappointed.
1. Chapter 1

Cass tightened her grip on the luggage trolly as she pushed through the mass of students and parents and shrieking cages and tried to look brave. She wasn't scared, she told herself. She was fearless. She was ready. And she certainly wasn't going to let her new classmates see her lip tremble as she hugged her mother for the final time.

"Be brave, sweetie." Her mother said as she tucked her daughter's dark curls behind her ear. Cass nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She had never been away from home before, not even for one night.

"And remember," Cass drew back to gaze up at her mother's face, shining with tears. "No matter what anyone tells you, Gryffindor will be the best house for having you in it."

"But what if I'm not in Gryffindor, mum?" Cass asked the forbidden question as she was buffeted by a group of third years barging towards the Hogwarts Express. A cloud of steam from the gleaming red train's engine was blown onto the platform, shrouding everything in grey and white. Cass instinctively held onto her mother's robes.

"Cassidy Starkwell. Your mother and father were in Gryffindor, and so were their parents, and their grandparents. You have Gryffindor in your veins, sweetie. Don't you worry."

Her mother leaned down to straighten Cass's collar and plant a wet kiss on her cheek. She opened her mouth to reply when a high whistle filled the platform and made Cass jump.

"Time to go, sweetie." Her mother kissed the top of Cass's head on final time and pushed her towards the gleaming train. All along the carriage students were leaning out the windows, calling and waving to their families and to each other. More people pushed and shoved in the doorway, a sea of writhing bodies. The sounds of screeching owls and crying first years pounded on Cass's eardrums, dizzying her as she stumbled forward holding her trunk with one hand and her cage with the other. Cass was small for her age, and as she struggled forward she found it easy to slip under arms and around legs, heaving her heavy trunk after her. When she reached the door and stepped up she turned to wave one final time, but there was no sign of her mother. She scanned the unfamiliar faces of the crowd for her mother's dark eyes, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Taking a deep breath and reminding herself to be brave, Cass let the crowd sweep her inside, away from everything that was familiar to her.

Cass found herself in a carriage full of older students. Without their uniform, it was impossible to tell which houses they were from. One boy, stockily built with curly brown hair, heaved Cass's trunk up onto the rack for her. She gave him a nervous smile, clutching her cage to her chest.

"First year?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

She nodded.

"Know the feeling." He laughed, and Cass found herself relaxing slightly. "You can sit by me if you want." The boy said as he flopped onto the bench beside a black-haired girl. "Angelina and I can give you some first year advice." He winked and patted the seat beside him. Cass smiled then, and hopped up to the bench. Inside the cage, her cat meowed plaintively.

"My name's Oliver." The boy said.

Cass reached into the cage to stroke her cat, Taffy. "I'm Cass." She said, feeling more confident by the minute.

"Know what house you're hoping for?" The girl, Angelina, leaned across to peer at her with dark eyes. Cass swallowed, and shrugged. She had decided that she liked Oliver and Angelina. Not all students would be kind to a first year like her.

"My family were all in Gryffindor." She replied.

Oliver grinned. "That's our house. Best there is, if you ask me."

Cass shivered. She could almost hear her mother in the back of her mind, agreeing. "Best house there is." Her mother always said. "I was in Gryffindor, and so were my parents, and their parents before them. We have good blood, Cass, and I know you'll make us proud."

"_Oliver._" Angelina hissed. "What if she's not in Gryffindor? Don't scare her."

Oliver narrowed his eyes, looking Cass up and down. "She's a Gryffindor." He said finally. "Gut feeling."

Angelina snorted, but inside, Cass felt her nerves flutter. She certainly hoped so.

Oliver and Angelina were the only people Cass knew at Hogwarts, and when a giant, hairy man called out for the first years to follow him, she wanted to clutch onto them. But of course she didn't. That was a cowardly thing to do, and Cass was not cowardly. She bravely stepped forward, feeling strange without the heavy trunk and Taffy's cage weighing her down- but she had been told to leave them on the train. Her new robes fluttered around her ankles as she let herself be carried along by the tide of first years, and as she looked around at all her new classmates, some excited, some anxious, she realised for the first time that she wasn't the only one in an alien world.

"Crabb? Crabb!" A thin boy with white-blonde hair hissed beside Cass's elbow. She was standing on tip-toe, trying to see the lake over the heads of the other first years. Her heart had fluttered when she heard the massive man say that they would be travelling in boats. Not with fear, but excitement. The excitement of a new adventure.

"_Crabb_!" The boy beside her called, scanning the faces of the crowd. "Where_ is_ he?" The boy stepped back, still gazing around, and knocked right into Cass.

She staggered back, and would have fallen had he not reached out and caught her by the front of her robes.

"Thanks." She muttered, just as he said "Sorry."

"Right, come on, you three. Inta the boat." Cass looked up, craning her neck in order to do so, to see the big man standing above them, gesturing with hands the size of saucers for her to climb into the next little boat. She glanced sideways at the white-haired boy, who shrugged.

"Can't find my friend anyway. Guess you're with us."

The two boys in Cass's boat were complete opposites. The white-haired boy was thin and sleekly built, with a narrow face and intelligent eyes, while the other- Goyle, had he called him?- was big and burly with buzzed black hair and beetle eyes set too close together.

The white-haired boy grinned at Cass across the boat. "I'm Draco." He said. "Draco Malfoy."

"Cass Starkwell." She replied.

"Goyle, would you _stop_ picking your nose?" Draco hissed. He grinned slightly at Cass, and she laughed silently into her hand as Goyle turned a dark shade of beetroot.

"Ignore him." Draco said, rolling his eyes. "He's part troll."

This made Cass laugh even harder, and Goyle go even redder.

"But don't worry, he's not the man-eating type."

Cass grinned.

"Any idea what house you'll be in?" Draco leaned back, making the boat rock.

Cass shrugged. "My mother wants me to be in Gryffindor, like her."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "So what house do _you_ want to be in?"

Cass blinked. Never, in all her eleven years of existence, had she been asked her own opinion. It had always been assumed for her that she would be in Gryffindor, that she would follow in her parent's footsteps and they had followed in theirs. And yet, what house _did_ she want to be in?

She shook her head to clear it. Gryffinor, of course. She wanted to be in Gryffindor.

"I suppose…" She trailed off. "Well, anything as long as it's not Hufflepuff."

Draco snorted loudly. "I think we just went from acquaintances to friends."

Cass returned his grin. "I've never had one of those before." She said quietly.

"What, an acquaintance?" He raised his eyebrows skeptically.

Cass grinned into her lap. "A friend." She replied, and felt Draco Malfoy beam.

"Well, at least you're making friends with the _right_ sort of people."

"The right sort?" Cass repeated, looking up.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Because when I make a friend, it's a friend for life. There's no getting out of it, even you're put in Gryffindor. "

Cass raised one eyebrow, a talent she was inordinately proud of. "You don't like Gryffindor?"

He shrugged. "Well I'm planning on getting put in Slytherin, so traditionally, Gryffindors are my rivals. But I don't believe in that. People are people, right?"

Cass gazed out over the lake, the lights from the castle glittering on the water. "Right."


	2. Chapter 2

Cass shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she stood squeezed in between Draco and his other friend, Crabb. The stairwell packed full of first years had been utterly silent until the moment Professor Mcgonagall left, when it had erupted into the noise of exited chatter. Cass felt like she had swallowed a stone. Her nerves had twisted themselves into a hard knot and she clenched her hands into fists to stop them trembling. Would _not_ show the others how scared she was. She would not.

"Cass." Draco nudged her with his elbow from where he stood a step above her. "You ever heard of Harry Potter?"

"Of course." Cass replied. "He's the one who defeated You Know Who when he was a baby. Everyone knows that."

"Well, I heard a couple of sixth years saying he was coming to Hogwarts this year." Draco said slowly. "And- look."

Cass followed his gaze through the crowd until she spotted a boy standing next to a tall, gangly red-headed boy. Cass recognised the boy vaguely as one of the Weasley's- her mother worked with his father at the ministry. But it was the boy that stood next to him that Draco was starring at. He was slightly shorter and scrawny, with a mop of overgrown black hair and round glasses.

"_That's_ Harry Potter?" Cass breathed as she starred. He seemed to be sticking close to the Weasley boy, gazing around in wonder and fear. Like Cass, he seemed unsure of himself, nervous. Cass could see his hands shaking.

"He looks so lost." She said thoughtfully. She had always assumed a wizard as famous as Harry Potter would be more… confident. Not necessarily cocky and arrogant, but more sure of himself. Not at all like this boy with the round glasses.

"He was raised by muggles, you know." Draco said. "Apparently he didn't know he was a wizard until he got his letter."

Cass glanced up at her new friend. "That's awful." It had been bad enough for her with magical parents. Cass suddenly felt extremely confident compared to what he must be feeling.

"I'm going to talk to him." Draco said decidedly. "He looks like he could do with some friends, don't you think?"

Cass nodded, but Draco had already left her side and was climbing up the stairs towards him. Draco was an interesting character, Cass thought. He seemed much older than eleven, though, Cass supposed, she didn't have anything to base this on. She had never known anyone her own age. Never had friends before.

Cass knew from stories her mother had told her what came next. When Mcgonagall returned, a stony silence falling over the first years, she lead them through a giant arched doorway. As the crowd around her pushed forward, Cass ducked forward to fall into step beside Draco.

"What did he say?" She whispered, looking around for Harry Potter but seeing no sign of him.

"He's rude and arrogant and pig-headed." Draco grumbled. "Clearly a Gryffindor through and through." Cass glanced sideways at him, but his face was unreadable. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short as they emerged into what must have been the Great Hall. It was bigger than any room Cass had ever been in. The four house tables were already packed with the rest of the students, jostling each other and laughing, the image of the clear sky on the ceiling lit up by the hundreds of candles floating magically in the air. Every one of the teachers up at the staff table was inspecting the new students as they lined up silently at the base of the stairs, gazing wide-eyed around them and trying to take it all in. Cass could hear her blood pounding in her ears, and she wiped her sweaty palms on her robes. Beside her, Draco bumped her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"Good luck." He mouthed silently as Cass tried to return the smile.

"Thanks." She replied without making a sound.

Cass knew the headmaster was making a speech, and that the sorting hat was singing, that everyone was applauding- but she didn't hear any of it. She felt light-headed- when was the last time she had a drink? She couldn't remember. Draco had a hold of the back of her robes to stop her from toppling forward, but he didn't glance in her direction. Her eyes fluttered closed and she concentrated on taking deep breaths, calming herself. She could only think one thing, over and over.

_Let it be Gryffindor. Let it be Gryffindor._

And then the sorting started. Professor Mcgonagall read the names one by one from her scroll of parchment, and one by one, the first years were sorted into their houses. Each time the name of a house was called, that house table applauded and stamped their feet. When Draco was called forward, he flashed her a sideways grin before sauntering confidently up the steps to the three-legged stool where he sat and allowed Mcgonagall to place the sorting hat on his head. It had barely touched his white-gold hair when the flap that acted as a mouth opened and it called out in a husky voice that echoed throughout the hall, "SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherins whooped and whistled as Draco leaped down and raced to the table, his smile stretching from ear to ear. Cass couldn't help but feel a slight guilty sinking in the pit of her stomach- she would have liked to be in the same house as Draco.

A hush fell over the entire hall as Harry Potter's name was called. The boy stepped forward hesitantly, clenching and unclenching his fists, and sat bravely on the three-legged stool. The sorting hat stayed quiet for a long time. It hadn't taken nearly as long with anyone else, and after a long and eery silence, whispers started to circulate. Cass could only catch a word of it, though it was a word she had heard before. Hat-stall.

Eventually however, the hat opened it's mouth and pronounced the famous Harry Potter a Gryffindor. Just as Draco had predicted.

It was down to only a handful of first years. Cass was concentrating so hard on not throwing up, she almost missed her own name being called.

"Starkwell, Cassidy." Mcgonagall called, Cass's name ringing throughout the silent hall. Cass took a deep breath. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, teacher and student alike, all watching her every move. She caught sight of Draco at the Slytherin table, giving her the thumbs up, and Oliver and Angelina sitting with the Gryffindors. All these people, all watching her as she took her final steps up to the sorting hat, and for the first time, she felt no fear. A strange sense of calmness settled over her as she sat on the stool and allowed Mcgonagall to place the hat on her head. It fell right down over her eyes, shutting out the upturned faces before her and turning the world black. She closed her eyes.

"Interesting." A small voice said, and Cass involuntarily gripped the edges of the stool. No one had said anything about the hat talking _to_ her. And If she could hear the hat- surely it could hear her? It was worth a try.

"What is?" She whispered, trying to move her lips as little as possible.

"Oh, the usual." The sleepy voice said. "Could do well in any house, but where to put you. Where to put you. Ahhh decisions. Perhaps Slytherin would suit you most."

"No!" Cass whispered quickly. "Not Slytherin."

The hat seemed to sigh. "What is it with you first years and not wanting Slytherin? They are a good house, you know. One of the best."

"Please, not Slytherin." Cass whispered. "Gryffindor, not Slytherin."

"You know, I think I'm growing soft." The hat announced. "I_ am_ supposed to make the decision, you know, not you. And I think you'll do best in…"

Cass almost didn't hear what the hat said next over the pounding in her ears. Her heart was in her mouth, and she was gripping the stool so tight her fingers hurt. But as the hat opened it's mouth and the hall roared with applause, one word was spinning in circles inside Cass's head.

Slytherin.


	3. Chapter 3

Slytherin. She was in Slytherin.

Cass was so stunned she barely even noticed the roars from the Slytherin table as she trudged in a daze down towards them. The Slytherins whooped and slapped her on the back and shook her hand in congratulations, but it wasn't until she found herself sitting on the bench in between a beaming Draco and an older girl with waist-length blonde hair that she truly realised what had just happened.

"I knew you'd be one of us." Draco was saying haughtily as he helped himself to a pile of mashed potatoes. Cass hadn't even noticed the food magically appearing before her.

"I-" She starred around at the smiling, laughing faces. "I think there's been a mistake." She managed.

Draco turned to peer at her. "What do you mean?"

Cass swallowed down the burning in the back of her throat and bit on her lip to stop it trembling. "I'm not Slytherin, Draco. I'm not."

The older girl with the long hair turned then, squinting down at Cass with ice blue eyes. "Better stop your complaining." She said harshly. "Before anyone else hears. Us Slytherins are proud of what we are, and you better learn to be too."

Cass stiffened and straightened her back. Even if she was Slytherin, she had to look brave. "The hat said I would do well in any house." She said, her voice coming out small and childish. She wasn't sure if should be telling everyone that the hat spoke to her, but she was so desperate she was willing to try anything.

"Are you saying you think you're too good for us? For Slytherin?" The girl demanded.

Cass shrunk back against Draco, who was watching with a thoughtful expression on his face. "No! I-"

The girl's face softened suddenly. "Hey, it's alright. Not everyone gets the results they were expecting. Just don't go complaining about it, alright? Like I said, us Slytherins are proud."

Cass nodded mutely, too frightened to speak.

Cass didn't eat a thing the entire meal. She was exhausted, her entire body numb, and all she wanted was to hide herself from all these people and go to sleep. So when Professor Dumbledor finally announced that the evening was over, Cass was all too happy to follow the Slytherin prefects from the hall.

"First years over here!" The girl with the long blonde hair called, and Cass trudged behind Draco and the other first years from the hall. She barely noticed where they were being lead, down stairs and wide stone passages. The air grew thick and cold as they descended underground, and Cass pulled her new cloak tighter around her shoulders. Finally, in the middle of a stone passage lit by the occasional green lantern along the wall, the prefects stopped. The girl with the long hair turned and placed her hand on the cold wall while Cass watched, only half paying attention.

"Serpent Tongue." The prefect said, and Cass heard a rumble echo through the passage. A door appeared that hadn't been there before, glowing softly around the edges, and then the entire section of wall slid to the side.

For a moment, the dull shock in Cass's chest eased as she stepped through the door, her jaw dropping. The Slytherin common room was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. It had an arched ceiling, two staircases spiralling downward on either side, and fourth huge thin windows. Only the windows didn't look outside- they looked _underwater_. Through the soft green glow of the water Cass could see fish darting back and fourth and something bigger, a shapeless black smudge, seemed to be chasing them.

"We're under the lake." She breathed, stunned. She looked over at Draco, who looked amused, and then down. She had seized him by the arm without even realising, and now she let go with a burning face.

"This is the common room." One of the prefects said. "I'm sure you all know the rules. The password changes every week, so make sure you check the noticed board. And under no circumstances are you to show anyone from another house where our common room is."

Cass had heard all this before, so she only half listened as she looked around at the thick velvet sofas and glossy tables and a mantle carved out of silver with designs of snakes intertwined around each other. The silver lanterns hanging in brackets around the walls gave of a soft green glow and an emerald green fire was roaring in the grate under the richly decorated mantle.

"Girls dormitories to the left, boys to the right." The prefect with the blonde hair said. "Girls, follow me."

Cass glanced at Draco, who grinned. "See you tomorrow." He said with a thumbs up before he disappeared down the staircase to the boys dormitory.

There were five girls sharing the first year dorm. Cass trailed behind, the shock returning and leaving her numb.

"This is your home for the next six years." The prefect, who had introduced herself as Marian, said. "So get comfortable. Any issues, and you come straight to me, got it?" At this, she looked directly at Cass, hovering back slightly in the middle of the staircase. The girls all nodded.

"We Slytherins stick together, remember that." Marian continued. "If the hat thinks your worthy of Slytherin, then there must be something great inside you. We look after our own. Once a snake, always a snake."

Cass lay awake, running her fingers through Taffy's thick fur and listening to the sound of the other girls falling asleep. The lake outside the window never stopped glowing, even at night, but with the thick green drapes drawn around her fourposter bed, Cass was left in complete darkness. She traced the line of the silver embroidery on the velvet coverlet with her finger and leaned back against the pillow, closing her eyes. She was over her shock now. She was in Slytherin. She had to accept it. All she needed to figure out now was how to tell her parents.


	4. Chapter 4

"I still don't see what's so hard." Draco said through a mouthful of toast. "Just send them a letter telling them you're in Slytherin."

Cass shook her head. "You don't know my parents. They'll be devastated."

The hall was full noise, forks clinking on plates, people laughing and shouting, footsteps pounding up and down in between the four house tables. Above them the enchanted ceiling showed a clear day, the sky a sheet of turquoise splattered with cotton-wool clouds.

"Well," Draco continued, helping himself to more scrambled eggs, "You can't just not tell them. Better to get it over with."

Cass nodded. He was right, of course, but that didn't make it any easier.

"Cass!" Cass spun round at the sound of her name to see a tall girl with a dark ponytail striding towards her with a smile on her face. "How are you doing?" Angelina asked, hugging her bag to her chest.

"I'm OK." Cass forced a smile.

Angelina's eyes flickered to Draco and back.

"Oh, um…" Cass mumbled. "This is Draco Malfoy."

Angelina pursed her lips. "Yeah, I know who he is. Anyway, just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"Yeah, thanks." Again, Cass flashed a smile, but Angelina was already turning to catch up with her friends, throwing a glare over her shoulder at the other Slytherins.

Draco made a growling noise in his throat. "Gryffindors." He muttered.

Their first lesson was transfiguration with Professor Mcgonagall. In her excitement to finally be using her new wand, Cass forgot about the knot of dread in her stomach, forgot about her parents disapproval, about Angelina's withering glare. She sat next to Draco with her wand lying on the desk in front of her as they read passages from their textbooks. And there were a lot of passages. Draco sat with head propped up on his hand, staring at the page with glassy eyes, and even Cass, excited as she was, felt herself growing distracted.

Before she could even think about it, her hand was in the air. Draco raised his eyebrows at her, and several heads turned, but Cass kept her hand determinedly up until Mcgonagall's gaze rested on her.

"Miss Starkwell?" She said with a curt nod, her gaze piercing right through Cass, who swallowed.

"I was just wondering, Professor, when we'll be using our wands?"

Mcgonagall's lips thinned. "When you have learned your spells, Miss Starkwell, then you will start to use them. I suggest you pay attention if you wish to move forward."

Cass slid down fractionally in her seat, trying not to notice that everyone was starring straight at her. She didn't say another thing for the rest of the lesson.

"Oh, that's just great." Draco rolled his eyes as he studied their timetable.

"What is it?" Cass leaned over his shoulder, her dark hair falling forward into her eyes.

"Potions." He mumbled. "With the Gryffindors."

Cass frowned. "I didn't know different houses had classes together."

"Only some classes." Draco replied as they set off down the corridor, elbowing their way through the thick mass of students hurrying to and from classes. "You know what it means, though. We're in a class with that prat, Potter."

Cass ducked under the arm of a fifth year frantically pushing through the crowd in the opposite direction. "Maybe you should give him a chance." She said, slightly breathless. "I know he was rude, but-"

"He wasn't just rude, Cass." Draco said, irritably. "He made it clear he did _not_ want to be friends. And that's fine with me."

Cass didn't argue, partly because she agreed, partly because the crush of students was so thick it took all her concentration just to stay beside him.

"PEEVES!" A gruff, wheezing voice sounded above the chatter in the corridor, and everyone fell silent for a few moments. Draco was the first to see the thing whizzing above their heads.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing. Cass followed his gaze. High above them, zipping back and fourth and doing summersaults in the air, was what looked like a little man. He was small and round with very short legs and a face that was seemingly ageless- he could have been either a child or an old man. His head was bald and shiny, and he wore a bottle-green pin-striped suit, bright orange suspenders, and an oversized red bow tie.

"You can't catch me!" He squealed as his zipped so low over their heads that Cass felt her hair stir. "You can't catch Peevsie!"

"I'll get you for this one, Peeves!" The gruff voice came again, and this time Cass caught sight of it's owner. A greasy-looking old man with yellow, crooked teeth and a limp came pushing through the crowd, fist brandished and jowls quivering with rage. As he charged past her, Cass caught a stench of stale wine and rot. She shuddered.

"Peeves." Draco grinned. "The resident poltergeist. I wonder what he's done this time."

It turned out what Peeves had done was build a giant wall of desks and chairs to block the main hallway. It took the prefects a full fifteen minutes to remove them all with hovering charms and restore them to their original classrooms while everyone waited in the crowded corridor to be allowed through. Eventually, however, they made it down to the dungeons where Professor Snape's classroom was located. It was cold down there, a damp breeze blowing softly from somewhere down the dark passage and a smell like damp wool sticking to the walls. The classroom itself was no warmer, and not much lighter either. Jars of vile-looking liquids and various pickled _things_ lined the walls- Cass swore she saw an eyeball swivel in it's jar of green goo to look at her.

Cass shivered again as she took her textbook out of her bag and sat down at a desk next to Draco and his friend Goyle. She glanced around the classroom again. The teacher was still nowhere to be seen, but Cass found her gaze drawn to a pair of bright green eyes, magnified slightly by the round glasses. Harry Potter was sitting beside his red-head friend, the Weasley boy, and he was starring straight at her. Cass starred right back at him with narrowed eyes until he glanced away. When she turned around, she felt his gaze return to her, but she was saved from confronting him by the arrival of the Professor.

Snape wasn't what she was expecting. Greasy-haired and hook-nosed, a pinched sneer permanently set on his face- he didn't seem the warm sort of teacher. He was the type of teacher that gained respect through fear, the kind who didn't need to so much as open his mouth to make the whole classroom fall silent. He was unlikeable, and maybe that's why Cass liked him instantly.

"Turn to page twelve." He drawled with a disdainful sweep of the room. "And begin preparing the Cure for Warts. You will find all the ingredients in the store cupboard."

Cass could tell even before she found page twelve that she was going to like potions much better than transfiguration. At least here she would be _doing_ something. The thought made her fingers tingle with excitement.

The lesson passed much too quickly for Cass's liking. She lost herself completely in brewing her potion, only paying attention to anything else when Snape had a go at Harry Potter, at which Draco sniggered- rather cruelly in Cass's opinion (she gave him a disapproving glare before returning to her work).

Cass had only just finished her potion when Snape announced the end of the lesson. One by one, he inspected the cauldrons. Harry Potter and his friend- who's name Cass now knew was Ron- received extra low marks and a sneer from Snape. In fact, only a Gryffindor called Hermione Granger received anything other than distain from Snape, who seemed genuinely surprised, and little annoyed, at her success.

That was, until he tested Cass's.

"Remind me again of your name?" The Professor said in a voice as greasy as his hair.

"C- Cassidy Starkwell." Cass stuttered, suddenly nervous again as all eyes turned to her.

Snape turned, and Cass thought he was walking away when he spoke to the class. "Miss Starkwell is the only one to brew a perfect potion." He announced, and Cass felt her stomach do a flip. It felt good to receive praise from such a tough Professor. "You should all learn from her. Miss Starkwell," He turned back to her. "Well done."

Cass felt Draco give her an approving nudge in the ribs, and she ducked her head to hide the smile spreading across her face. Maybe life in Slytherin wouldn't be so bad after all.


	5. Chapter 5

_Dear Cass,_

_Your father and I were very sorry to hear what you sent in your last letter. I was sure my own flesh and blood would make it into Gryffindor, so to hear otherwise was very distressing. Perhaps the sorting hat didn't see the best in you._

_Keep being brave, sweetie._

_Lots of love,_

_Mum._

_P.S. You're father and I are taking a business trip to Switzerland this december, so please let your head of house know you'll be at Hogwarts for Christmas._

_Again, we love you sweetie. Be brave._

Cass read the letter with tears in her eyes. When she was finished, she tore it in half and crumpled the parchment in her fist. She was glad she hadn't stayed in the Great Hall to read it- she didn't want the others to see her cry over a stupid letter. Only it wasn't stupid to her. Her mother said she loved her, but she could almost hear the disappointment in her voice. Cass had only wanted to please her parents. She never asked to be put in Slytherin.

"_Stupid_." She whispered to herself. She stuffed the torn up letter into her pocket and slipped out of the empty classroom into the corridor. As she tried to retrace her steps- which was hard, as she'd been running as fast as she could away from the Hall when she found the classroom- a noise from the corridor behind made her jump. The rest of the school must be finishing breakfast by now- Draco would be wondering where she was. She sped up.

"Wee weeeee!"

Cass stopped again, sure this time that she had heard it. She turned, squinting down the corridor. All the doors lining the walls were closed, no lines of light seeping from beneath them.

"Who's there?" She called, determined not to let her voice shake.

Silence.

Cass chewed on her lip, hesitating, before she turned to continue down the corridor. She heard the noise too late to react, the swooshing sound of something hurtling through the air. She felt her hair stir in a disturbed breeze and ducked instinctively, pulling her hands up over her head.

"Ooooh lookie, lookie! A student wandering the halls!" Cass knew she had heard the high, squeaking voice before, but it wasn't until she looked up that she recognised it. Peeves was doing summersaults through the air, his green pinstriped suit tails streaming out behind him, and he was holding was looked like four green tennis balls.

Cass felt her eyes widen. Dungbombs. Peeves was fiddling with the pin on one of the bombs, struggling to grip it in his chubby fingers.

"Stop!"

He looked up, squinting at her with his ageless eyes as if seeing her for the first time.

"Don't you _dare_ pull that pin." Cass continued, keeping her voice steady but commanding, like her mother used to do. When Cass was little, her mother would never shout. She would keep her voice deadly calm and controlled, and that always scared Cass more than if she raised her voice.

Peeves's face cracked into a maniacal grin and he began to cackle, rolling over and over in the air and clutching at his stomach. "Wittle firstie doesn't even have a wand!" He squealed, "Silly, silly firstie!"

Cass folded her arms across her chest and stood her ground. "Give them here, Peeves." She said, holding out a hand.

Peeves paused, glancing at her suspiciously. "Ooooh look who think they're a prefect!"

"I don't think I'm a prefect." Cass replied, still holding out her hand. "A _prefect_ wouldn't set four dungbombs off outside the Gryffindor common room now, would they?"

Peeves's jaw dropped open, and he stopped spinning. "So if Peevsie gives you his dungbombs…" He said slowly, and Cass could almost see his brain trying to work it through. "Firstie will bomb the Gryffindor tower?"

"Even better." Cass replied, lowering her arm as she realised that first of all, she didn't want to be caught with illegal dungbombs in her first week and second of all, she didn't know where the Gryffindor common room _was._

"Better?" Peeves repeated, his eyes brightening.

"Yes." Cass grinned. "I let you keep the bombs, and then _you_ do it. That way you wont miss out on all the… chaos."

It was the right thing to say, Cass thought smugly as Peeves began whizzing excitedly around the corridor, chanting something about how smelly Gryffindors were.

"Well?" Cass started to walk purposefully forward as if she had never been interrupted. "Are you going, or what?"

"Yeeees! Yes yes yes yes." Peeves sang, and he zipped away, leaving nothing but another disturbed breeze to lift the hem of Cass's robes.

She grinned to herself and shook her head. Although she hadn't actually broken any rules, she suddenly felt very guilty. But it was a good guilty. The kind of guilty that made her stomach twist with butterflies whenever she passed someone in the corridor. The kind that made her want to break more rules, because for once she wasn't the centre of her parents world, with all that attention focused on her. For once, she could do what she wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

Cass was watching the giant squid drift by outside the Slytherin common room window when a group of giggling third-years entered through the sliding wall, laughing at how successful the bombing of the Gryffindor tower had been. Cass suppressed a grin and ducked her head, reminding herself to focus on her transfiguration homework.

"Cass!"

She looked up to see Draco leaning in through the entrance to the common room, his hair windswept and his cloak folded over his arm.

"Where have you been? We're late for flying lessons!"

Cass blinked. "What?"

"Quidditch…" He said slowly. "I've been talking about it all week?"

"Oh." Cass had completely forgotten. Although, she had never really taken it seriously in the first place. Draco loved quidditch, but she hated the idea of letting her feet leave solid ground. It was, however, compulsory for first years to learn to fly, so with a small nod she picked up her bag and hurried down to follow Draco into the passage.

"If you love quidditch so much why have I never seen you practise?" Cass asked, a little breathlessly, as Draco half dragged her up the damp dungeon steps. Their footsteps echoed back at them of the walls like a hundred shadows charging alongside them, drowning out the steady dripping of water from the ceiling.

"First years aren't allowed brooms." He replied, speeding up at they reached the first landing aboveground. The light from the arched windows momentarily blinded Cass and she stopped, blinking and rubbing her eyes, before realising she was falling behind and running to catch up.

* * *

The quidditch field was empty but for the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years. They stood in two lines, facing one another, each with a broom on the ground in front of them. The quiddich teacher looked at Cass and Draco sharply as she they hurried to join them.

"You're late." She said sharply. She was a small woman, but fierce-looking, with spiky silver hair and yellowish eyes, like a bird.

Cass hung her head, but Draco just smiled. "Sorry Madam Hooch. I wont happen again."

Cass looked up to see him grinning sideways at her, and when Madam Hooch turned around with a small sniff, let out a breathless laugh.

"I want you all to step up to the left side of your brooms." Madam Hooch said, stalking up and down the corridor in between the rows of students. They did as they were told. As Cass was gazing down at her broom, the handle knotted and worn where so many hands had gripped it, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Harry Potter was starring at her from where he stood in the other line a few students down, a sort of wary dislike in his eyes. Cass met his gaze, refusing to be the first to back down, and nudged Draco. As soon as he looked up, Harry Potter looked away.

She met Draco's confused glance and shrugged, just as Madam hooch blew her whistle. With a start, Cass realised she had completely missed all their instructions. All at once, everyone around her held their hands out, palm down, over their brooms and starting shouting 'up'. Harry Potter's broom flew into his hand, and he glanced around with a look of smug triumph, which was soon wiped clean as Draco's broom did the same.

"Cass." She looked up to see him, broom in hand, gesturing her to pick hers up.

Slowly, she stretched out her hand. Most of the students were still shouting at their brooms, growing redder in the face.

"Up." Cass muttered, glancing up at Draco to make sure she'd done it right. Her stomach was still a seething mass of nerves, and she was considering faking a fever to get out of flying.

Draco rolled his eyes. "You have to _mean_ it." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How am I meant to mean it if it's the last thing I want to do?" She demanded in a whisper, but Madam Hooch was busy shouting at a boy called 'Longbottom' to hear her.

"Just think about-" Draco stopped suddenly, and Cass looked up, realising with a jolt that all the shouting had stopped, and everyone was staring at her. The only one who hadn't picked up her broom.

"Miss Starkwell?" Madam Hooch raised her pencil-thin eyebrows and folded her arms expectantly.

All Cass could think as she extended her hand again was that everyone was watching her, that they all thought the reason she hadn't done it was because she _couldn't_. She felt herself blush deep scarlet and tried to stop her hand shaking. She closed her eyes- and felt her fingers close around the warm, smooth handle of the broom.

She opened her eyes and glanced first at Draco, then around at the other first years. All of them were still staring at her.

"Cass…" Draco said slowly. "How did you do that?"

Cass tilted her head to one side in confusion. And then she realised. The broom had come to her, and she hadn't said a thing.

* * *

"Draco." Cass tugged on his sleeve. "Draco, what's that?" She pointed at something in the grass, lying where the boy and Madam Hooch had been moments before.

Cass had stood frozen as the boy, Neville Longbottom, lost control of his broom and almost fell from the roof of the castle. Now his back was only just visible as Madam Hooch half carried him to the hospital wing.

"What?" Draco asked, finally looking.

"There. In the grass." Cass pointed again, and this time Draco saw. He stepped forward and picked it up, squinting down at it in confusion.

"Hey-" He looked up to where Madam Hooch was vanishing into the castle. "Hey, Neville!" He called. "You forgot… whatever this is!" But Neville was gone.

Draco shrugged and turned back to Cass.

"It's a remembrall." He said wonderingly. "I've been meaning to get one of these… I wonder where he got it."

Cass saw him before he spoke, but Draco had his back turned. "Give it here, Malfoy." Harry said, holding out a hand expectantly.

Draco turned, his look of confusion turning to dislike. "Why should I?"

Harry's face darkened. "Because _I'm_ In Gryffindor." He replied smugly. "And Neville's in my dorm."

The two boys held eye contact for a long time, and then Draco shrugged. "You've got a point." He said, and he tossed the remembrall carelessly over.

Harry's friend, Ron, let out a snigger, and Harry smirked. "Heard you could fly, Malfoy." Harry said with another sideways smirk. "Want to give us a demonstration?"

And Cass watched, openmouthed, as he thew the remembrall into the air. Draco moved too fast for her to stop him, mounting his broom and kicking off into the air. Cass rocked back on her heels to squint up at him, a sinking feeling in her chest. This wasn't going to end well, and she knew it.


End file.
